By Zachary Persing ’15, Sports Editor

Editor’s Note: The following is a personal reflection by The Minuteman’s resident sports connoisseur  

On January 4^th, the sports world suffered a great loss when Stuart Scott died following a seven-year battle with cancer. The community responded by honoring Scott in a multitude of ways. The Men’s Basketball Team at the University of North Carolina wore patches that paid tribute to Scott, the Indianapolis Colts held a moment of silence prior to their wild card round playoff game, and the Phoenix Suns tweeted many of Scott’s traditional catchphrases as well as some of his inspirational quotations. When people reflect on the life of Stuart Scott, it will be evident that his legacy is twofold: Scott not only was a trailblazer in the sports entertainment industry, but also was an incredible example of someone fighting cancer with immense courage.

When Scott joined ESPN in 1993, he was clearly the kind of anchor that nobody had ever seen. He captivated audiences with countless catchphrases that included “Boo-Yah!!,” “Hallah!!,” “Cooler than the other side of the pillow,” “Just call him butter ’cause he’s on a roll,” and “”You ain’t gotta go home, but you gotta get the heck outta here.” That isn’t to say that everyone liked Stuart Scott. During his early years at ESPN he received bundles of hate mail, some of which were racially charged. But Scott wasn’t bothered by the hate mail because the ratings spoke for themselves and a majority of people loved Stuart Scott. He was a new kind of voice in the sports world, a voice of the people.

While Scott’s incredible work on ESPN was enough to build a legacy, he will arguably be best remembered for the way he fought cancer. After his original cancer was diagnosed and removed, Scott immediately returned to TV screens across the nation. Scott didn’t want cancer to dictate how he lived – he continued this way of life when he practiced mixed martial arts and P90x workouts during his second and third bouts with cancer. Scott’s view on cancer was stated artfully during his acceptance of the Jim Valvano Perseverance Award at the 2014 ESPYs. Scott said, “When you die, it does not mean that you lose to cancer. You beat cancer by how you live, why you live, and in the manner in which you live.”

As sports fans, we should be grateful to have had the opportunity to welcome Scott into our homes on a nightly basis for the past 20 years. We should be grateful to have had the opportunity to watch a man who truly was cooler than the other side of the pillow. We should be grateful to have had the opportunity to watch a man beat cancer by the way he lived. The next time your loved one fights that much harder against cancer because of Scott’s mantra of “never give up,” Scott’s legacy truly will be understood and appreciated.